"Problems of this type are not unusual given the age of the school building and its vicinity to some abandoned and blighted buildings in the neighborhood," the school board said in a statement.

A student sent WDSU a photo of a bat taken at the school, claiming the school's power went out on Tuesday, and bats chased students and teachers out of the building.

"Please help us; we are afraid that someone will get ill because of the toxic droppings or that the bats may bite someone," the student wrote.

Parents are also worried.

"They carry germs, and not just for my kids -- I'm concerned about all of the kids and teachers and everybody else," said parent Tina Thomas.

And WDSU medical editor Dr. Corey Hebert said parents should be concerned.

"Rabies can be transmitted, as well as histoplasmosis, and that is a fungal disease that you can get from being around bats or being around bat droppings. It causes respiratory symptoms," Hebert said.

Hebert said symptoms may take a while to manifest, but when they do, the illness can be serious.

But the school board insists it is doing everything necessary to protect students from health risks, and those methods have been reviewed by the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals.

Those measures include sealing unwanted entries to prevent pests from getting in, installing "excluder" devices, replacing ceiling tiles and creating a plan to relocate students in the building if necessary.

"There is currently no risk to students and the Department of Health and Hospitals is aware that classes are taking place as scheduled," the board said in a statement.

Students said they want to attend class without fearing they'll be attacked by bats.

"Everybody's afraid, everybody's running and screaming," said one student who asked not to be identified. "The hallway gets real chaotic when it happens."

School officials said they are working on a design of a new McDonogh 35 building, which will be constructed within the next two years or so.